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T h e
K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
June 1932
eJEWISH WORLD . . . B y J. A. V aus
even all bus lines cease work, only drug stores being permitted to remain open, for Saturday is the day of rest in Tel Aviv. Friday evenings and Saturday after noons find the streets crowded. Many of the young and old people of both sexes sing and dance in the streets, for here at last the Jew feels at home. There is something in this incident that is reminiscent o f Jeremiah’s prophecy, where we read: “ Then shall the virgin
and dusty academical surroundings, un dergone a modern overhauling, and once again, as in days of old, has become a cre ative instrument in the process o f reclaim ing and rebuilding Zion. An amusing story is told of Dr. Milton J. Rosen, Harvard professor, who, when he was walking with a friend down the streets of Tel Aviv, sought to strike up a conversation with a little Jewish boy. To
Tel Aviv— The All-Jewish City T he city o f Tel Aviv in Palestine en joys the unique distinction o f being the only all-Jewish city o f the entire world. Other cities may boast of large Jewish populations, such as New York City, where one out of every four men, women, and children is a Jew. Warsaw, Poland, also has an enormous Jewish population,
where one out o f every three persons is Jewish. But Tel Aviv is practically one hundred per cent Jew ish, for out o f a popula tion o f 45,600 there are but 240 residents who are not Jewish. Located on the Mediter ranean coast, Tel Aviv joins boundaries with the ancient city of Jaffa, with which it is connected by Allenby Street. It sprang from a modest beginning under a Jewish organization called “Ahu- zath Baith,” which had for its object the formation o f a Jewish colony north of Jaffa. A loan o f $48,000 from the Jewish National Fund permitted the erec tion o f the first sixty houses. Thus did Tel Aviv originate. Jews in large numbers flocked there, and the new settlement grew so rapidly that Tel Aviv soon became a separate city. Tel Aviv has a decidedly
dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. “Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin o f Israel: thou sbalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry” (Jer. 31 :13, 4 ). ; Large numbers of Jews meet in the Ohel Shem (Tent of Shem—the liter ary center) on Saturday afternoon and listen to lec tures and sing Jewish songs. A fter sunset, the Hav- dalah prayer is recited, and when the reader reaches the words, “The Jews had light and joy and gladness and honor,” the lights are turned on. Special Jewish holidays such as Purim (the festi
HERZL STREET IN TEL AVIV
val commemorating the deliverance o f the Jews in Esther’s day) and Passover are appropriately observed with great rejoicing in Tel Aviv. The Purim carnival lasts for three days and is one o f the outstanding events o f the whole year. Thousands of Jews from all parts o f Palestine, as well as many tourists, flock to these Purim festivi ties. The streets which are broad and clean are decorated at such times and children and grown-ups in masks and costumes join the parades which march through the city. I ndustrial and C ultural C enter The streets which are well lighted are named for certain ancient and modern Jew ish celebrities such as Rashi, Rambam, Ju dah Halevi, Jonah Hanavi, Shalom Alei- chem, Achad Ha-am. The famous Jewish poet, Chaim N. Bialik lives on Bialik Street, which is named in his honor. Allenby Street was named for the British general who was leader o f the Palestine military campaign during the World War. Roths child Boulevard is fine o f the finest streets in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv has many public and private schools where Jewish boys and girls can secure a Jewish and a general education, [Continued on page 285]
his dismay, the lad refused to speak Eng lish, and kept repeating over and over, “Rak Ivrith" (only Hebrew). Dr. Rosen asked him why he spoke only Hebrew. With a saucy look on his face and with the confident expectation that his answer would be appropriately annihilating, he asked in the Hebrew tongue, which the friend translated, “ Isn’t it the language that God speaks?” Jewish leaders expect that the revival of the Hebrew language will do much to pre serve the traditions and religion o f Juda ism and that it will tend to cement more closely together the many divergent ele ments in Israel. J ewish F estivals and H olidays According to a periodical on Jewish current events, Jewish religious customs and ceremonial rites, festivals, and holi days hold untrammeled sway in Tel Aviv with an abandon to be found nowhere else in the Jewish world. The Sabbath in Tel Aviv is strictly observed as a day of rest. With the approach of twilight on Friday evening, the Shctmash o f the main syna gogue goes to various parts o f the city and blows the Shofar. This is the signal that all work must cease with the ushering in o f the Sabbath. Stores, factories, and
Jewish atmosphere which immediately im presses itself upon her visitors. Every where one hears the Hebrew spoken by old and young alike— in the homes, stores, and schools, in the hotels, on the streets, in the post offices, as well as in the courts o f law. Signs on the store fronts, street name plates, newspapers, and periodicals are all in Hebrew. One shortly discovers the fact that the mayor, the judges, and public officials and professional people— doctors, merchants, lawyers, policemen, and working men, without exception— all are Jews. R evival of S poken H ebrew Nowhere is the revival of the spoken He brew (inseparably linked up as it is with the romance of the restoration o f Israel to the “ Land o f the Fathers” ) more in evi dence than in Tel Aviv. The revival of the Hebrew is one of the significant events of the present day,'and one that is certain to have a tremendous influence upon the whole future of national, religious, and cultural Jewish life, not only in Palestine, but in all lands o f the Jewish dispersion. Hebrew, which has hitherto been largely the language o f prayer for the Jews—the Loshen Kodesh (holy language)—has now emerged from its deserted sanctuaries
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